Zimbabwe begin preparation for Tests against Bangladesh despite rain disruptions

“It’s unfortunate, but obviously these things you can’t control. I’m happy with the prep we got in Harare. We had four good days of a regional game there, so the guys are coming off quite a bit of game time. And we sort of prepared for all possible conditions when we were in Harare – that was quite nice,” said head coach Justin Sammons in a statement on Thursday.

Sammons praised the players’ attitude in whatever time they got to practice despite having back-to-back travel days. “Like I said, it’s unfortunate, but the guys are in good spirits. They’ve had some nice time together in the changeroom after two sort of heavy travel days. So, I am happy with where the group is at.”

Only four members of the touring party – captain Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Wellington Masakadza and Victor Nyauchi – have previously played Test cricket in Bangladesh. For the rest of the members, the series against Bangladesh, starting on April 20 in Sylhet and followed by the second game at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram beginning on April 28, the tour offers them a fresh challenge and valuable learning opportunity.

“It’s going to be a massive learning opportunity for the group. For most of them, it’s their first time here in whites. The key is to take the lessons from this experience and grow as cricketers. Every time we come into a series, we play to win, and nothing changes here. We strongly believe we have a group of players that can really compete and take the series back with us to Zimbabwe,” added Sammons.

Zimbabwe and Bangladesh last played a Test against each other back in July 2021, where the latter won by 220 runs in Harare. Zimbabwe last featured in a Test match in Bangladesh in February 2020, with the hosts clinching a comprehensive victory by an innings and 106 runs.